Let’s be honest – most people don’t exactly get excited when they hear the word “burpee.” This exercise has a bad reputation for being insanely difficult and is often why people dread doing them. However, while they can be very challenging, they’re also extremely effective! Some have even deemed burpees the greatest exercise in the world. Burpees are a great way to get your heart rate up, burn calories, and build muscle. But where did burpees come from? Legend has it that a physiologist named Royal H. Burpee created the infamous exercise in the 1930s as part of a fitness test he was conducting. It then became popular during the 1940s when the United States Armed Services used it to assess recruits for World War II. It was a quick way for them to assess the men’s agility, coordination, and strength. If this isn’t enough to make you want to incorporate burpees into your regular workout routine, read on to see the top three reasons why you should!
Full-body workout
Unlike a sit up or push-up, which mainly target one specific area of the body. Burpees utilize the multiple main muscles of the body. It takes a lot of concentration to ensure that you’re completing all the movements of this exercise correctly, and if you do then you should feel it everywhere. Burpees work your leg muscles, core, and arm muscles.
They can be done anywhere!
Not only do burpees require no equipment, you can really do them anywhere! Whether you travel a lot, are short on time, or can’t make it to the gym one day, you can almost always find room to do a burpee.
Increases your endurance
Need a quick way to get your heartrate up? The up-down motion of burpees, along with incorporating different parts of the body, is quick way to kick start your heartrate and increase the body’s demand for oxygen.
So now that you now WHY burpees are great for you, here’s the proper way to do one:
- Start in a standing position, feet about hip width apart.
- Bend your knees and go into a squat position, and place your hands on the floor.
- Make sure that your hands are stable enough and firmly placed on the ground, and then kick your feet back at the same time, now you should be in a high plank position.
- Jump your feet back as close to your hands as you can.
- As you return to standing position, jump into the air. Land softly.
If you want an extra challenge, do a push up before returning to standing position.
Try starting out by doing 3 sets of 6 burpees with a 30 second rest in between each set.
Article written by GUADS member Emily, with contributions from www.draxe.com
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